With little cash, remote hospital nears crisis point

Officials are seeking state help for the Inyo County center to avoid cuts or closure.

- BY KRISTEN HWANG

LOCATED in Lone Pine, Southern Inyo Healthcare District is the only hospital within a nearly 60-mile radius.

Without it there would be a 136-mile stretch between the next closest hospitals in the eastern Sierra Nevada.

Inyo County, on the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada, has two hospitals. In a matter of weeks it may be down to one, local and state officials say.

Southern Inyo Healthcare District, a 37-bed hospital in Lone Pine, had eight days of cash on hand as of Sept.12, chief executive Dr. Kevin Flanigan told CalMatters. Local officials have sent a letter asking Gov. Gavin Newsom for an emergency $3 million to stabilize its finances through the end of the year, but absent state intervention the hospital may have to severely cut services and staff - or close altogether.

"If they don't come through and nobody else comes through then... the board of directors is going to have some very hard decisions to make," Flanigan said.

On average, hospitals generally have more than 200 days of cash on hand, according to a recent KFF analysis. Hospitals with fewer than 80 days of cash on hand are considered "highly vulnerable" to a "financial crisis."

Located in Lone Pine, a town at the base of Mt. Whitney with just 1,300 residents, Southern Inyo Healthcare District is the only hospital within a nearly 60-mile radius. It's the closest stop for injured hikers and dehydrated tourists visiting Whitney or nearby Death Valley, which regularly receives more than 1 million visitors per year. Without it there would be a 136-mile stretch between the next closest hospitals in the eastern Sierra Nevada.